These women live longer – here’s why

If you have greenery and vegetation around your house and on your property, you’re in luck. Well, it’s not luck, it’s science.

You’re going to live longer.

According to a study published in Environmental Health Perspectives, American women who live in homes surrounded by more vegetation have much lower mortality rates than women who live around less greenery.

The researchers looked at the homes of 108,630 women in the US (from 2000 to 2008). They compared the women’s risk of mortality with how much vegetation was around their living areas. So if you’re a country girl, you most likely live on a farm, a ranch, or somewhere with green all around you. If so, that’s great!

The numbers

The ladies who lived in the greenest places had a 12 percent lower mortality rate. This matters most when it comes to cancer and respiratory diseases. The “green women” had a 34 percent lower rate of deaths related to respiratory problems and a 13 percent lower rate of cancer deaths.

What this means for you

If you live with a lot of green around you — trees, bushes, grass — you’re avoiding some of the effects of air pollution, noise, and super hot heat. Researchers also believe that these extra green places offer more of a chance to get outside and be phsyically active.

Think about it. If you live in the woods, you’ll probably go hiking more than someone who would have to travel by car in order to hike. If you live on a farm or somewhere with a lot of green acreage, you have more room to walk, run, birdwatch, or whatever. This means more oxygen for you and less stress for your soul. The study even said greenness can help with mental health and depression.

“We were surprised to observe such strong associations between increased exposure to greenness and lower mortality rates,” said Peter James, one of the study’s researchers. “We were even more surprised to find evidence that a large proportion of the benefit from high levels of vegetation seems to be connected with improved mental health.”